Questions about wet tumbling

[Hondo 60]

For those of you who wet tumble...

I use my vibratory tumbler after each range session.
The most I ever have of any one caliber is 150 pcs, usually only 50 pcs.
I take it, you still don't want to combine calibers that'll slip inside each other.

Is it feasible to tumble only 50 pcs at a time?

How long does it take to tumble?
I usually let it dry tumble 4 or 5 hours.

Will wet tumbling remove scorch marks?

What about brass that sat in the rain for a few days?

I've seen some really grungy brass that supposedly looks brand new, so that really intrigues me.

 

[X-Ring]

I take it, you still don't want to combine calibers that'll slip inside each other.

That is correct, even more so

Is it feasible to tumble only 50 pcs at a time?

Yes. but it would be a lot of effort for such a small quantity.

How long does it take to tumble?
I usually let it dry tumble 4 or 5 hours.

2 hours tumbling, I just let the brass air dry for 24-48 hours

Will wet tumbling remove scorch marks?

Yes, just like new

What about brass that sat in the rain for a few days?

No problem, even a few years, brass will look just like new

 

[Reeferman]

On the one my son made we can have different size tumbler containers.

 

[Rule3]

If you need to dry tumble for 4 hours you need to change your media and add some new polish. Should only need to tumble 2 hours or so.

You did not say what vibrating unit you have but it should handle a lot more than 50 cases.

 

[1066]

This is my wet tumble system - 50 cases would be quite practical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcyAkj-LzA8

 

[dh1633pm]

I only allow mine to air dry when its hot outside or I have a good fire going. Otherwise I dry in the oven at about 225. Air drying can leave spots.

 

[cfullgraf]

Is it feasible to tumble only 50 pcs at a time?

I find processing a batch of cases wet tumbled in a 12-15 pound drum time consuming when compared to dry tumbling. 12-15 pound wet tumblers are somewhat the norm that are commercially available to reloaders.

But after looking at 1066's video, a smaller drum with fewer cases would make wet tumbling small batches of cases feasible.

Thumler makes 3 pound capacity rock tumbling drums and tumblers which would be just the ticket. Note, rock polishing is a wet process.

See here.

http://thumlerstumbler.com/rotary.html

My first dry tumbler many years ago before vibrating tumblers were common place was the two drum 3 pound unit, Thumler's Model A-R2 Model 115. Less expensive than the Model B at the time. It performed well as a dry tumbler.

I see no reason the 3 pound drums would not work with stainless pin wet tumbling and the smaller quantity of water and pins would make processing the batch quicker and easier than handling a 15 pound capacity drum.

There are a number of ways to accelerate drying the cases. My wife will not let me get any gun related stuff near her ovens so that is not an option for me. I generally just let them air dry on a towel. Hornady's new case dryer looks interesting.

How long does it take to tumble?
I usually let it dry tumble 4 or 5 hours.

Frankfort Asenal's wet tumbler kit has a timer on it that goes to 3 hours. That seems to be adequate time for the most part.

Generally, I have found wet tumbling takes less time than dry tumbling but like dry tumbling, the time required depends on the condition of the cases.

But, I do not wet tumble very often so I'm still learning what works best for me.

Midway sells a magnet that you can "turn on" and "turn off" to help separate the pins from the brass. I recently got one and found it helpful in handling the pins.

See here.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/37...dia-transfer-magnet-for-stainless-steel-media

 

[dh1633pm]

I bought a magnet from Harbor freight that I use to collect the pins that get away. I rinse the pin and brass after every use. A few get away. A magnet makes short work of those. I dry the pins in an old frying pan. Solar is great for drying brass, if its warm enough outside.

 

[1066]

My first dry tumbler many years ago before vibrating tumblers were common place was the two drum 3 pound unit, Thumler's Model A-R2 Model 115. Less expensive than the Model B at the time. It performed well as a dry tumbler.

Frankfort Asenal's wet tumbler kit has a timer on it that goes to 3 hours. That seems to be adequate time for the most part.

]

This was my first tumbler - I made it back in the 1980's specially for diddy .32 S&W Long cases for precision pistol shooting. I built in a six hour clockwork timer from a cooker.

 

[tcoz]

I tumble different case sizes in a vibratory tumbler all the time. If you put the largest cases in, tumble a few seconds until they fill with media, add the next largest, do the same and keep repeating until they're all in, you can run it for as long as you want without cases getting stuck in each other.

Also, if I have a lot of cases, I tumble four hours without adding additional polish. Doesn't appear to make a difference.

 

[Hondo 60]

To clarify.
I don't NEED to tumble for 4-5 hrs, I just choose to do so.
My current tumbler is a Lyman Turbo 1200.
Nothin wrong with it, it works as well as any vibratory tumbler.

I just want to investigate wet tumbling because the results I've seen online are pretty amazing.

 

[Hondo 60]

What about this?
Anyone have one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-rotary-rock-tumbler-67631.html

 

[Rule3]

To clarify.
I don't NEED to tumble for 4-5 hrs, I just choose to do so.
My current tumbler is a Lyman Turbo 1200.
Nothin wrong with it, it works as well as any vibratory tumbler.

I just want to investigate wet tumbling because the results I've seen online are pretty amazing.

You can run it for a week if you want to.

 

[guns3738]

I use dawn dish soap lemmishine and stainless steal pins. I tumble for 2 and a half hours and they look like new. I have cleaned range brass thats been in rain,mud,snow etc and they look like all the rest of my brass, realy clean.Hope this helps.

 

[judgedelta]

There are available little mesh bags for separating different calibers of brass. I thing Midway sells them.... very cheap.

I rinse my brass in rubbing alcohol in the summer, dry in sun. Keeps down water spots. Alcohol is reusable many times. Water spots don't hurt anything. I wouldn't put cases with alcohol in the oven.

 

[AV8TOR]

What about this?
Anyone have one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-rotary-rock-tumbler-67631.html

That is what I am using and it works fine. I just started using it and it works just fine but I am only using 9mm cases.

 

[Toprudder]

I wait until I have about 10lbs of brass to clean before I wet tumble in my Frankfort rotary tumbler.

The reason I like to process a large batch is because of the economy of scale. Loading up the drum and starting the process, or rinsing and separating the pins at the end of the process, or drying, takes roughly the same amount of time whether it is 200 or 1000.

Since I shoot a lot of 9mm, but not as much 380 or 38/357, I will sometimes combine those into one load, since they are roughly the same caliber and will not fit inside each other.

As for combining different calibers, I have one mesh bag that my wife found for me at the pet store that works reasonably well. It is used as a bird feeder with thistle seeds. However, separating the pins from the bag can be a little troublesome, as the pins like to get in the hem.

 

[tcook90]

I use the one Hondo and AV8TOR referenced, except the dual drum unit:

http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html

Works very well, 150 9mm cases in each drum (larger caliber=fewer cases). I've read complaints of the belts breaking, and ordered some extra when I got it, but I've run somewhere around 150 cycles with the original belt.

 

[dh1633pm]

TCOZ, thanks for that idea. I will give it a try.

I have a Covington 250 Deluxe

http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/product.php?id=46533&catID=102

They have gotten pretty expensive, but it is very durable. Strong motor. I bought mine when they were much cheaper.

 

[Reeferman]

My son made this one for less than $50.00. Left the shafts long as we are either going to make a larger drum or a smaller one that can be put on with the larger one if there are going to be cases that can get inside of each other.

 

[JO JO]

I have 2 rotary tumblers a Frankford for larger runs and a harbor freight for the smaller
runs of brass this system works well for me watch amazon for sells on the Frankford I seen
it as low as $150 for the set up !

 

[cfullgraf]

The most I ever have of any one caliber is 150 pcs, usually only 50 pcs.
I take it, you still don't want to combine calibers that'll slip inside each other.

It sounds like folks are having good luck with the Harbor Freight small drum tumbler.

The two drum tumbler will let you do two small batches at the same time of different cartridges and not get them interlocked with each other.

 

[lemeatm]

I have the two drum tumbler from Harbor Freight and it works great for ~100 rounds of .223 per drum. I JB Welded two chunks of 3/8" poplar dowel vertically in each drum to help agitate the brass and in about an hour I have like new brass waiting to be dried and processed. Lemishine and whatever kitchen liquid soap the wife has bought works very well. If I am feeling froggy, after things are dried I run them in the vibrator for 15 min to get rid of the spots and make sure there are no pins in the flash hole. I drop a small rare earth magnet in the mix to make sure I catch the pins that get loose.

 

[jmorris]

I have tumbled 50 cases or less in my homemade SS wet tumbler they are ready for rinse and dry in about 30 min but I generally add them into a batch that won't turn in to a "puzzle".

Like my first test batch that had 458 socom and .223, mixed.





Clean inside and out, more importantly not jammed up nested.



Don't tumble, say 50 bmg with 45 acp though.